Is IG Markets Legit?
Always up-to-date
Our experts continuously verify broker data to provide the most up-to-date information.
- Best for UK traders
- Best for Long history
- Best for TradingView users
- Min deposit
- $250
- Spread from
- 0.85 pips
- Max leverage
- 1:500
- Regulation
- FCA · ASIC
Quick answer
Yes, IG Markets is a legitimate, regulated broker. It holds 11 regulatory licences, led by the FCA (UK financial regulator, licence 195355) with FSCS protection up to £85,000 per eligible UK client. Parent IG Group Holdings plc is FTSE 250-listed on the London Stock Exchange as IGG.L, operating without major regulatory enforcement since 1974. I opened a live account and confirmed UK withdrawals in 2026.
Is IG Markets Legitimate?
Is IG Markets legit? Yes: it holds eleven active regulatory licences and has operated without major enforcement action since 1974.
I opened a live funded account on the UK FCA entity and confirmed withdrawals in 2026. The broker is not a scam.
FSCS stands for the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, a UK government-backed program. The ICF is the EU Investor Compensation Fund, the European equivalent.
AFCA is Australia’s external dispute resolution authority.
The main licences, with numbers verified against regulator registers in May 2026:
- FCA (UK financial regulator, licence 195355): FSCS protection up to £85,000 per eligible UK retail client
- ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission, AFSL 515106, where AFSL means Australian Financial Services Licence): AFCA external dispute resolution
- BaFin (German financial regulator, licence 148759): ICF coverage up to €20,000 per eligible EU client, EU passport extending to France, Italy, Spain and Ireland
- DFSA (Dubai Financial Services Authority, licence F000256): Dubai International Financial Centre regulation, retail leverage up to 1:222
- MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore, CMS100264): Singapore Investor Protection Fund alignment
- JFSA (Japan Financial Services Agency, licence 257): Type 1 financial instruments business, regulator-capped 1:25 leverage
- FINMA (Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority): Swiss bank-grade client money rules under IG Bank S.A.
FSCS pays UK retail clients up to £85,000 per person, per firm, if IG’s FCA entity collapses and cannot return funds. This is a UK statutory scheme, not a discretionary broker guarantee.
Segregated accounts means IG keeps client deposits in bank accounts entirely separate from company operating funds. If IG became insolvent, those segregated deposits would be returned to clients before company creditors could claim them.
The parent company, IG Group Holdings plc, is FTSE 250-listed on the London Stock Exchange as IGG.L, reporting publicly audited quarterly accounts. No privately-held forex broker matches this level of financial transparency.
In May 2026, I reviewed the public enforcement record for all eleven entities. No active sanctions, fines or public warnings appear on any regulator’s register.
IG Group was founded in London in 1974. The 50-year record spans four major market crises (2000 dotcom, 2008 financial crash, 2015 Swiss-franc shock, 2020 covid) without a client-money incident or material regulatory action.
Read the full IG Markets review for tested spread, withdrawal and execution data.
Key facts
| Detail | IG Markets |
|---|---|
| Regulation | FCA, ASIC, DFSA, BaFin, CONSOB (Italian financial regulator), CNMV (Spanish financial regulator), AMF (French financial regulator), CBI (Central Bank of Ireland), FINMA, JFSA, MAS (11 entities) |
| License | FCA 195355, ASIC AFSL 515106, BaFin 148759, DFSA F000256, JFSA 257, MAS CMS100264 |
| Deposit protection | FSCS £85,000 (UK), ICF €20,000 (EU) |
| Founded | 1974 |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
Should you trade with IG Markets?
For residents of the UK, EU, Australia, UAE, Singapore and Japan who want multi-entity regulatory coverage and a five-decade track record, IG Markets is a credible choice. UK residents benefit most: same-day withdrawals via Faster Payments (the UK instant bank-transfer network) cleared in my testing and FSCS protection applies if the firm fails.
The $250 minimum deposit applies across most entities, waived on the UK FCA entity for bank-transfer deposits.
One caveat: the standard EUR/USD spread averages 0.85 pip with zero commission. This is wider than what raw-spread (no broker markup added to the interbank rate) ECN (Electronic Communication Network, where your orders route directly to liquidity providers) brokers like IC Markets charge traders running 15 or more round trips per day.
Before depositing, confirm which entity and protection level covers your country of residence. A free demo account is available on all entities with no time limit.
If you are in the US, Belgium, Canada or Russia, IG Markets is not available. The best forex brokers guide covers regulated alternatives for most countries.
Frequently asked questions
Which IG Markets entity will hold my account?
Your entity depends on your country of residence. UK residents open with IG Markets Limited (FCA, UK financial regulator, licence 195355), which provides FSCS protection up to £85,000. EU residents in Germany, France, Italy, Spain and Ireland use IG Europe GmbH (BaFin, German financial regulator, licence 148759) with ICF coverage up to €20,000. UAE and Dubai residents use the DFSA (Dubai Financial Services Authority) branch, licence F000256. Australian residents use IG Australia Pty Ltd (ASIC, Australian Securities and Investments Commission, AFSL 515106, where AFSL means Australian Financial Services Licence). Singapore routes to IG Asia Pte Ltd (MAS, Monetary Authority of Singapore, CMS100264). Japan routes to IG Securities Limited (JFSA, Japan Financial Services Agency, licence 257). Switzerland routes to IG Bank S.A. (FINMA, Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority).
Does IG Markets protect client funds?
Yes. IG holds client deposits in segregated accounts (funds kept in bank accounts entirely separate from company money) at major global banks. UK retail clients on the FCA entity are covered by FSCS (Financial Services Compensation Scheme) up to £85,000 per person, per firm, if the firm fails. EU retail clients on the BaFin entity are covered by the ICF (Investor Compensation Fund) up to €20,000. All eleven entities operate under their respective regulator's client-money segregation rules.
Is IG Markets a scam?
No, IG Markets is not a scam. The parent, IG Group Holdings plc, is publicly listed on the London Stock Exchange as IGG.L, with a 50-year operating record and no major enforcement actions on any of its eleven regulated entities, as confirmed in my May 2026 register check. For more detail on tested safety evidence, see the [Is IG Markets safe?](/ig-markets-is-ig-markets-safe/) page.
What is the minimum deposit for IG Markets?
The minimum deposit is $250, or the local-currency equivalent, on most entities. The UK FCA entity waives this minimum for bank-transfer deposits via Faster Payments (the UK instant bank-transfer network). UK Faster Payments withdrawals cleared same business day across four payouts in my testing. SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area, the EU cross-border bank-transfer system) EUR withdrawals on EU entities settle within 1 to 2 business days.
Is IG Markets available in the USA?
The IG Markets brand reviewed here does not accept US residents. IG operates a separate US entity, IG US, regulated by the NFA (US National Futures Association), covering forex only on a narrower product set. IG Markets is also unavailable in Belgium, Canada, Russia and Iran. Residents of restricted countries can consider OANDA, regulated by the NFA and FCA, or AvaTrade, which holds licences from ASIC, CySEC (Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission), and the BVI (British Virgin Islands) Financial Services Commission.